XM-10 Flint
The XM-10 Flint is a mobile suit which appears in the manga series Mobile Suit Crossbone Gundam. Technology & Combat Characteristics During the Jovian War, SNRI developed a new production model mobile suit based on the Crossbone Gundams. This new model, dubbed the Flint, managed to cut production costs by eliminating the elements which allowed the Crossbone Gundams to function around Jupiter, such as radiation shielding. However, other elements such as the X-shaped flexible thrusters were retained, giving the Flint excellent cost-performance. It retained many of the same weapons as the Crossbone Gundams but made use of a 120mm machine gun as well as a new zanbuster, which used a gun barrel in place of the buster gun and therefore did not have the same utility as the original. Because of the Crossbone Vanguard's reduced numbers near the end of the war, the Flint only entered limited production. However, after the war, the Federation learned about SNRI's under-the-table dealings with the Vanguard, and in order to appease them, the company produced the Flint for them as well, giving it the model number F97-E. Armaments ;*Vulcan Gun :These head mounted shell firing weapons have a high-rate of fire, but little power and are generally ineffective against mobile suits. However, they can damage lightly armored areas such as the sensors, and are ideal for shooting down small, lightly armored targets such as missiles or small vehicles. ;*Mega Machine Cannon :The Flint is equipped with a pair of fire-linked mega machine cannons in its chest and they are stronger than the vulcan guns. ;*Beam Saber :The beam saber is the standard close-combat weapon of many mobile suits, it emits a blade of plasma contained by an I-field that can cut through any physical armor not treated to resist it. The Flint is equipped with two beam sabers stored in shoulder racks when not in use. They also serve as the beam guns for the core fighter. ;*Heat Dagger :An alternative close combat weapon, the heat dagger is unlike most heat weapons as its blade is heated using leftover heat from the leg's thrusters. The heated blade can melt the enemies armor on contact, which when combined with the force applied to the attack, can inflict significant damage. The heat daggers are stored in the legs, one in each calf. Normally, it is handheld when in use, but it can also slide out of the sole as a surprise attack. ;*Beam Shield/Brand Marker :Unlike an I-field generator, which is effective only against beam attacks, the beam shield blocks both beam and projectile weapons. The beam shield generates a plane of energy similar to the blade of a beam saber. This plane is divided into multiple sections, which can be turned on or off as needed to conserve energy. Individual sections are also automatically deactivated whenever they're in danger of coming into contact with the mobile suit itself. The beam shield generators of the Flint are mounted on the forearms, and can further take advantage of beam energy malleability, forming four short beam blades at the corners of the beam shield generator that meet at the center, which gives the brand marker as a whole a pyramidal shape. The brand marker slides over the fist of the mobile suit and is used as a punching weapon. When used, the the brand marker leaves an X-shaped hole, if the target area isn't completely destroyed. ;*Zanbuster :The zanbuster used by the Flint is of a different configuration from the Crossbone Gundams', it uses a new gunbarrel attachment instead of the traditional buster gun add-on. :;*Beam Zanber ::The beam zanber is a high power beam saber and is the primary weapon of the Flint. The hilt of the beam zanber is modeled after that of a traditional pirate cutlass, as does the beam blade when it is formed, and is stored on the left hip when not in use. The power of the beam zanber is significantly higher than that of ordinary beam sabers, such that it is easy for the Flint to overpower an enemy in melee combat or even "cut" through the beam of an ordinary beam saber. ;*120mm Machine Gun :The machine gun serves as one of the Flint's ranged weapons. It fires physical rounds at a rapid rate and possesses enough firepower to destroy lightly armored mobile suits with ease. Special Equipment & Features ;*Anti-Beam Coating Cloak :As with other Crossbone Vanguard mobile suits used in the year UC 0133, the Flint could be equipped with a cloth cloak that had been treated with an anti-beam coating. Functioning similar to the old physical shields that had received the same treatment, the cloak was used to protect the mobile suit from beam shots. With its size it could completely cover the mobile suit, with the exception of the head, providing full body protection. However, despite its advantages, one of which is conserving power, the cloak has two disadvantages. First, unlike a beam shield the cloak can only handle about 5 shots before the coating wears off, rendering the cloak to simple cloth. The second disadvantage is that the cloak offers no protection from physical weapons. ;*Booster :Unlike normal Mobile Suits, the Flint is equipped with long variable X-shaped thrusters, composed of four thrusters can be pointed at any direction: with the addition of AMBAC, the main thrusters allow high mobility around Jupiter's orbit, while combined into one huge rocket column they largely increased the unit's top speed, without increasing the size and mass of the mobile suit. ;*Special Weapons Targeting System :In order to increase the accuracy of the Flint, a Targeting System was equipped on this Mobile Suit. It's a high resolution camera, which takes the look of a pirate's eyepatch. This device was more than enough to raise the efficiency of the pilot. ;*Blackrow Shipping Worker Mobile Suit Disguise :The Crossbone Vanguard created this device to hide the Flints. When they are inactive, the Flint was disguised as a Working Mobile Suit of the Blackrow Shipping Company (A front company of the Pirates). History During the first Jupiter conflict Crossbone Vanguard pilots Umon Samon, Yona, and Jared were each given a Flint unit, which they used in the final battle against Jupiter Empire president Crux Dogatie who piloted eight EMA-10 Divinidad with the help of an organic control system. After the Jupiter Empire conflict ended, the three Crossbone pilots would use their Flints as combat and work mobile suits under the new Crossbone Vanguard lead by Tobia Arronax. The Flint will also see action in the second Jupiter conflict, only to be defeated by Jupiter Empire's Amakusa. Picture Gallery xm-10.jpg xm-10-core.jpg|Flint's core fighter xm-10-zanbuster.jpg|Zanbuster XM-10.jpg F97-E_XM-10_簡易型クロスボーンガンダム・フリント.jpg 1375422980 528fb905d4 o.jpg|XM-10 Flint custom Gunpla XM-10 NEX-A 01.jpg XM-10 NEX-A 02.jpg Flint.jpg External links *Flint on MAHQ